Neither Serrano ham nor lamb, the true ubiquitous food in Spanish Christmas are prawns and prawns. Nothing better exemplifies the excess that we like to practice on Christmas Eve, and that false feeling of luxuryLike that huge source of crustaceans, surely bought frozen and already cooked, but in huge quantities. Large prawn, walk or not.
Many mothers and grandmothers (who, unfortunately, always end up with these tasks) go olympically cooking prawns or prawns for 20 people, but, in reality, it does not have any science, and allows offer a product at its point, something that does not usually happen with the crustaceans that we buy already cooked.
The problem with the traditional technique is that the prawns and prawns are made very quickly, in just one and a half minutes for the first and two and a half seconds, after which time the ideal is to put the crustaceans in ice water to cut cooking.
This is relatively easy if we cook for four or five people, but if you have to serve huge quantities of prawns, the method becomes tiring, because for the bugs to remain at their point it is important not to cook large quantities at the same time. This is not to mention the concentration required for cooking that cannot exceed a minute and a half: you are going to open the door and goodbye, perfect prawns.
For this reason, the method that he proposes has caught our attention Anna hezel in the magazine Taste, and that makes use of an appliance that is increasingly present in Spanish kitchens: the circulator sous vide.
Prawns and prawns at low temperature
For the unfamiliar, the circulator sous vide –One of the devices that we recommend you order this Christmas as a gift– is an instrument that, in short, allows you to cook all kinds of food packed under vacuum or in hermetic bags continuously controlling the temperature, something fundamental in this type of cuisine.
In his book Sous Vide Made Simple, Lisa Q. Fetterman explains that the system is great to leave the prawns and prawns at their point, with the added advantage that, if they are cooked in a vacuum, can be prepared several days in advance and keep in the fridge at its perfect point. Something less to do at the always busy Christmas lunches and dinners.
As Fetterman writes, “Prawns are very sensitive to heat and they go from raw to gummy in a matter of minutes “. But by closely reducing and controlling the heat with a circulator, you can slow down the cooking process and virtually eliminate the possibility of overcooking.
Enough put the circulator at 60º and cook the prawns or prawns in an airtight or vacuum sealed bag (with a pinch of salt) for 15 minutes. The margin of error is greatly reduced: the crustaceans will still be ready, even if they are cooking for another 10 minutes.
The bugs also will cook consistently, even in large quantities: you can perfectly cook a kilo of prawns in a four-liter bag, as long as you have a large pot in which it fits. And you can put more than one bag. “Just make sure you place them in a single layer with the least possible overlap to ensure even cooking, ”says Fetterman.
Once you remove the bag with the prawns or prawns from the warm water, just put it on ice to cut the cooking, for 10 minutes. Once this is done, you can put the entire bag in the fridge until it is time to serve them. If you use vacuum packaging They will last up to a week in perfect condition.
Isn’t it cool?
All Christmas recipes
Directly to the Palate we love these parties and we have thousands of recipes for you to be sure to hit your Christmas meals.
Don’t miss our special with the 215 best Christmas recipes and 16 special menus. And if you need ideas for specific dishes, here is a good starting point:
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